The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed back LeBron James from his injury on Sunday night, so it’s safe to say the Lakers are not missing the Western Conference play-in tournament. But another star studded club, the Dallas Mavericks might. Here’s a look at two intriguing early-week matchups around the NBA. Check back for NBA odds.

Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week (March 27th, 2023)

NBA Rookie of the Year rankings: Paolo Banchero finishes on top. https://t.co/rBBigiSyI3 pic.twitter.com/UHTTFE8gir

— theScore (@theScore) March 27, 2023

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Dallas Mavericks vs. Indiana Pacers

• When: Monday, March 27, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• TV: BSIN, BSSW-DAL
• Radio: 97.1 The Freak (Mavericks) // 107.5FM The Fan (Pacers)
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Betting Odds: Mavericks (+1) // Pacers (-1)

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle served as the head coach of Dallas for 13 seasons (2008-09 to 2020-21), where he guided the Mavericks to the playoffs nine times, including the franchise’s first NBA title in 2011 with a roster that featured Mavericks special advisor Dirk Nowitzki and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. Carlisle, the winningest coach in Mavericks history, posted a record of 555-478 (.537) in his 13 seasons at the helm.

The Mavericks will be playing the second of a back-to-back and be without superstar Luka Doncic after he was whistled for his 16th technical foul of the season in Sunday’s upset loss to Charlotte. Players automatically get a one-game suspension after 16 technical fouls each season, and for every two technicals thereafter. Doncic has been assessed the third-most technical fouls in the league behind only Memphis’ Dillon Brooks (18) and Atlanta’s Trae Young (17).

Doncic was whistled for the tech foul with 7:51 remaining in the third quarter for arguing a no-call after missing a shot on a drive to the basket. He finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. As for who would move into the starting lineup Monday, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Justin Holiday are the most likely options.

Indiana is playing out the string and comes off a 143-130 loss in Atlanta on Saturday. Jordan Nwora had a season-high 33 in the loss. Nwora, a second-year player, was acquired by Indiana from Milwaukee as part of a four-team trade on Feb. 9. He scored 21 points for the Bucks against Cleveland on Nov. 16 for his previous season high and topped that with 25 points in just the second quarter against Atlanta. Nwora’s scoring outburst led the Pacers to 39 points in the quarter for a 74-72 halftime lead.

“We gave up well over 30 a quarter,” said Pacers coach Carlisle, who added that playing without starting center Myles Turner, who was held out with a sore lower back, was a factor. “But it’s not an excuse,” he said. “We’ve got to be better than that.”

Indiana won in Dallas 124-122 on Feb. 28. Tyrese Haliburton scored 32 points, and Turner added 24 against his hometown team. Doncic had 39 points and nine rebounds. He is averaging 25.6 points (.472 FG%), 8.6 rebounds and 8.6 assists in seven career games against the Pacers.

NBA Betting Pick: Pacers

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Golden State Warriors

• When: Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 10:00 PM ET
• Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
• TV:TNT, NBCSBAB
• Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub (Pelicans) // Sports 1140 KHTK AM (Warriors)
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Betting Odds: TBA

Could the Pelicans actually see the return of Zion Williamson this season? It certainly won’t be here but Zion has been cleared to return to on-court activities but still won’t be evaluated for a week. Zion returning would make the Pelicans a lower-seed team to fear in the playoffs, they outscore opponents by 7.2 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court this season.

New Orleans is ranked 9in the NBA in points in the paint per game, averaging 53.7 points. The Pelicans have scored 60-plus points in the paint in 24 games and have scored 70-plus points in the paint three times, compared to last season when they only scored 60-plus points in the paint eight total times and never scored 70-plus points in the paint.

Now that they are getting healthy, the Warriors are starting to resemble defending NBA champions. Will Andrew Wiggins play again this season? He hasn’t played in several weeks due to a personal issue and no one seems to be if/when he will.

This is the sixth season with 30-or-more home wins since 2014-15 for the Warriors and their second straight (31-10 at home in 2021-22). Overall, Golden State has 16 games this season with 20-or-more 3-pointers made, third-most in a single season in NBA history, trailing only the 2018-19 Rockets (18) and 2020-21 Jazz (17).

This concludes the season series between the teams. New Orleans leads 2-1 but won both those at home early in the season. The Warriors won the last matchup 108-99 on March 3 without Steph Curry, who is healthy now. Klay Thompson scored 27 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer for the Dubs. CJ McCollum scored 25 points and Brandon Ingram added 17 for New Orleans, which was outscored 19-6 in the final 4:30.

NBA Betting Pick: Warriors

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